The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy and Illustrator Carson Ellis Preview First Four Chapters of ‘Wildwood,’ New Children’s Book

Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis are a creative power couple made in indie-heaven, or in this case, Forest Park, a 5,000 acre woodland near Portland Oregon, the place their new illustrated children’s book, Wildwood, fictionalizes into a fantastic adventure-scape. Meloy and Ellis began working on the project in 2000, a few years after they met in college and a few years before The Decemberists would become an alternative-household name. Wildwood tells the story of 12 year-old Prue McKeel, whose baby brother is abducted by crows and taken to a place called the Impassable Wilderness, where Prue and her friend Curtis must venture to find him. The first four chapters are available to download from the website (just enter an email address or “like” on Facebook), which also features the interview (above) with Meloy and Ellis at their Portland home [via Consequence of Sound].

It’s probably the sort of artistic relationship that’s begging to be featured on an episode of Portlandia (and the first chapter of the book does include a single-speed bike chase and a baby swaddled in cordoroy), but boy, does this interview incite the warmest, sincerest of fuzzies. It also must be noted that Meloy and Ellis have made an iTunes playlist for Wildwood, and it includes not one, but two of the qualitatively best Led Zeppelin songs of all time (yes, this is pure, objective fact)—”Ramble On” and “Over the Hills and Far Away.” So, that’s it. I’m in love.